Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

GFF has been the topic of several other research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Griffon from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.50.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GFF traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 230,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,095. Griffon has a one year low of $39.09 and a one year high of $77.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 1.29.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.31 by ($0.07). Griffon had a return on equity of 96.05% and a net margin of 7.27%. The business had revenue of $647.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. Griffon’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Griffon will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Griffon

In related news, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 6,532 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total value of $457,631.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,169,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,006,870.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Kevin F. Sullivan sold 12,447 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $809,055.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 50,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,275,350. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ronald J. Kramer sold 6,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.06, for a total transaction of $457,631.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,169,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,006,870.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 260,464 shares of company stock valued at $17,244,450. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFF. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 98.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Griffon in the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Griffon during the first quarter valued at $65,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in shares of Griffon in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Griffon by 56.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

Griffon Company Profile

Griffon Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides consumer and professional, and home and building products in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Home and Building Products, and Consumer and Professional Products. The Home and Building Products segment manufactures and markets residential and commercial sectional garage doors, rolling steel service doors, fire doors, shutters, steel security grilles, and room dividers for the use in commercial construction and repair, and home remodeling applications.